Civic education NATIONAL FLAGS The colours and designs of national flags are not arbitrarily selected but rather represent aspects of a country s history, ideals, culture, or religion. Many flags share a common origin, forming flag families often connected by both shared traditions and geographical proximity. The Christian cross The Christian cross, prominently used during the Crusades, is featured in some of Europe s oldest flags still in use. For example, the British flag, known as the Union Jack, is a merge of the crosses of St George (representing England), St Andrew (for Scotland), and St Patrick (associated with Ireland). Several other European flags also feature crosses, including those of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Greece, and Switzerland. Royal colours In Europe, around the 12th and 13th centuries, royal families began using special symbols called coats of arms. These symbols later became their flags. Today, most countries don t have these symbols on their flags. However, the colours from those old coats of arms are still seen in the flags 14 GROUP WORK Follow the instructions. Split up into groups of three or four students. Assign each group one or two national flags based on geographical regions, shared colour palettes, specific symbols, or personal interest. Research and take notes about: visual description, symbolism, history, cultural heritage, connections to other flags. Present your results creatively. coat of arms: blasone, stemma fairness: equit , correttezza merge: fusione 134 Layout of Poland, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Hungary, Luxembourg, and Monaco. Austria, San Marino, and Liechtenstein are small countries whose flags still show the original royal symbols. Freedom colours One of Europe s famous striped flags was the red, white, and blue of the Netherlands. Because this flag was used during their long fight to be free from Spain, these colours became symbols of freedom and a government without a king or queen. France made this connection even stronger when they chose the same colours, but with stripes going up and down instead of sideways, after their big revolution in 1789. When the United States became independent, they also chose these colours for their flag, the Stars and Stripes, but that was because they used to be connected to Britain and the colours of the British flag. Other countries in Europe and in South and Central America also picked flags with three colours to show they believed in the same ideas of freedom as the French flag, fairness and brotherhood. Adapted from: https://www.britannica.com/topic/ heraldry/The-scope-of-heraldry